preliminary medicine programs

[bouncyjo]

Hi! I have been checking the forum daily for new posts and have finally decided to post my own thread!!

I am an ALMOST MS4, considering PM&R, so I have tailored my last year toward a career in this field. I am wondering about how to prepare for the preliminary medicine year. For everyone in or entering the field, I have the following questions:
1. Why did you chose your particular program? What was important to you?
2. How did you learn about various programs before applying? How did you compare programs? (FREIDA, scutwork.com..?)
3. How did you decide preliminary medicine vs. transitional medicine? (I am deciding between these two options...nothing else is appealing to me)

Thanks to everyone! I have learned so much from this forum! You are the best advisors available (You give good advice and don't miss appointments)!!!

bouncyjo

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[scm]

i wish i could help, but im about to be ms3, I have the same question(s) though..but also, when you said these were the only 2 options that appealed to you, what are the other options? i wasn't ware there were any....

regardless of specific programs.. how did you all decide between transitional vs prelim medicine to start with? i hear the former allows more elective time and might be a bit easier etc but that PM&R programs prefer you do prelim medicine(do they know/ask when you are applying what you are going to chose?)...

thanks for any insight guys...
scm

 

[bouncyjo]

I say these (prelim med vs transitional) are the only options for me, because to my understanding, most PM&R programs will take PGY2s with one year of family practice, internal med, OB/GYN, peds or surgery.

Can any docs help me with this? Is this true?

Thanks

 

[Stinky T]

I did a TY instead of a prelim. Most of the medical students I know who did or are doing prelims in medicine chose the program based on the call schedule and elective time. I think the mentality one has is different when it is a prelim vs. categorical. Things that are important for a categorical resident aren't necessarily important for a prelim. You might also want to consider location because it is a real hassle moving twice. Some people decide which prelims or TYs to apply to based on proximity to the residency program they are interested.

I think it is difficult to really get to know a prelim program (unless it is your own school's program) before you interview there, see the place, and talk to the interns. Ask the MS-IVs what they thought of various programs that they interviewed at. Scutwork.com is also a good resource now (there weren't that many reviews when I applied). Try contacting some of Scutwork's reviewers. You can also do a search on SDN or ask some of the interns/residents on SDN what they thought of certain programs.

I chose to do a TY because I hate IM. Also, I wanted a good mix of rotations (IM, ICU, SICU, Gen Surg, and EM) with ample call-free elective time. I used my elective time to do Pain Managment, Ortho, and Rads. As a TY I also benefited from the night float, but didn't have to participate in it. To be honest, I was looking for the easiest program I could find and this is the same mentality that I think most medical students have who are going into a specialty that requires a prelim or TY.

I really didn't know a whole about various programs before I applied. There aren't many TYs in the cities I was interested in so I pretty much applied to most of them. I narrowed my choices once I interviewed there and talked to the interns and found out more about the call schedules and elective time. In the end, it is only one year and then you're off to your specialty.

A few programs do prefer that you do a prelim, but it doesn't really matter what they want since you are the one ranking the PGY-1 programs. My program told us that they preferred a prelim in medicine, but only 2/6 of us actually applied/matched into a medicine prelim.

 

[mxk]

As mentioned, factors to consider in any residency program are location, malignancy of program, educational opportunities, ect.

As a prelim the big factor is how much you want to get out of the year. I liked medicine and seriously considered it instead of pmr so I wanted to do a prelim year where i could learn as much as i could in 1 year. In retrospect a cush ty might of been just as good. I feel pretty comfortable intubating and managing crashing patients on two pressors but in another month I wont use these skills again...presumably. A more cush program allows for one to read more and focus on learning medicine as opposed to scut. The learning curve for drawing blood or putting in IV's stops real short.

On the otherhand I feel a lot more confident in my clinical skill now then a year ago. I don't think a cush program would of given me that confidence.

It takes some soul searching, and determining how much work you want to put into a prelim year or ty.

One caveat, If you are considering a peds rehab fellowship, a peds year might be of benifit.

If you are uncertain of specialty choise, a transitional year might give more exposure to varied specialties.

What ever you choose, it's but a year.

mk

 

[bouncyjo]

I would like more info on prelim med and transitional year programs. Now that I am a 4th yr (heh-heh) it is my turn to learn, analyze and chose the type of program I want for my next year, and HONESTLY...I don't even know where to begin.

So far, while I am grateful for all of the replies, the answers have been very general. I was rather hoping for specific information about how to even begin searching for a prelim med program...I mean, all of you have done it, right? Can you please just share your story? How did you begin your search, how did you find out all the information you wanted? Is there a website that compares prelim med programs (I didn't find FREIDA to be too helpful). Does it take a second personal statement on ERAS?

Really, if anyone is willing to share their story, I would really appreciate it and I know that I could learn alot!!!

Thanks! You guys & gals are Great!


P.s. I was also wondering about if anyone had any info on the BAYLOR PM&R program. Please email me if you do, stories, experiences, what the interview is like, ordeals...WHATEVER!

[email protected]

 

[DigableCat]

I'll try to add anything that wasn't already said, as well as repeat some things...


1. Why did you chose your particular program? What was important to you?

There are thousands of prelim/ty programs out there. I found that narrowing them down was going to be a bit difficult. So my first cut was

Location- I applied to prelim/ty programs that were near the PM&R programs that I applied to. The most optimal living situation for me would be not having to move twice in two years. Although, there is something to be said for living for at least one year in a place you'll likely not get to go back to for a while. I had one friend who matched in Boston yet did his prelim year in San Diego. He loved it.

Amount of Elective Time- This seems to be important to many people, as I saw a direct correlation to popularity of program among my fellow applicants to number of electives offered. And these do come in handy for many reasons. #1. choosing an easy month in an otherwise hellacious schedule #2. giving you a chance to take something you may be interested in that you'd otherwise not be able to take in your residency(ophthalmology for a PM&R resident) and #3. Getting a head start like the Type A personality you are and taking an elective in your field...showing up everyone on your first day with your obvious "mastery" of concepts....all in all

elective time=good

no elective time=not so good.



2. How did you learn about various programs before applying?
I used mostly the internet. Most programs have websites where you can see the layout of the program, number of residents for prelim year they accept, etc. Then word of mouth was a close second. Many of your friends that graduated also went to these same interviews the previous year. And we pumped them for info. At my med school, we had a seminar run by the 4th yr med students before they left where they passed on their pearls of wisdom. I found it very helpful. And while you're interviewing, it's not to late to add programs. Some people I knew, added programs later after running into someone who told them that it was a sweet program(can't imagine why someone would do that though, as it make it more competitive for them)

How did you compare programs? (FREIDA, scutwork.com..?)
A paper and pencil. You just have to rank, what's important to you...and the ones that are your favs will eventually rise to the top.


3. How did you decide preliminary medicine vs. transitional medicine? (I am deciding between these two options...nothing else is appealing to me)


Well...do you want more elective time(see above) or do you like Internal Medicine and think that it wouldn't be so bad. Remember, many of your inpatients will seem slightly similar to IM patients, just without the urgency attached. An amputee patient is also an amputee patient with DM, HTN, COPD, ESRD, PVD. You can't just pass that stuff off to the Med Consult person(if you still expect to be friends with those guys).


4. Does it take a second personal statement on ERAS?


I didn't write an second one. In my original I stated something to the effect that I was seeking a prelimary year that would help me feel comfortable dealing with the medical issues that I would see as a PM&R doc yet allow me to foster some of my other interests as well(hence the want for elective time). I skewed it more to IM programs since many TY programs are through the IM program anyway.


Hope that helps.


All my calculations, algorithms, and agony ended up being for nought anyway...

I matched into a program that was automatically categorical...